St. Joseph's Food Bank

The St. Joseph's Food Bank (the "Food Bank") was founded in 1992. Initially the Food Bank served only a handful of people but through the hard work of dedicated volunteers, the Food Bank has grown to become one of the main resources for the community of Mission, BC.

In November 2004 the Food Bank began to register its clientele and do a means test. At that time the Food Bank was serving approximately 50 households per month. Food was mostly provided by donations from the parish and bread was donated. By June 2006 the clientele had increased to 200 households per month and the Food Bank moved to a twice per month system with the assistance and cooperation of the parish. The Food Bank also began to receive food from the BC Branch of the Canadian Association of Food Banks (the "CAFB") to supplement the food being provided.

By 2006 the Food Bank had over 545 registered households, representing 642 adults and 352 children. The Food Bank now also receives food weekly from the BC Branch of the CAFB. As well, bread is received once weekly from the local Save-On-Foods store. With donations from the parish, the Food Bank is also able to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as other grocery items that are not donated.

The Food Bank currently distributes approximately five tonnes of food per month; four tonnes donated by the BC Branch of the CAFB and one tonne purchased by the Food Bank through donations. It is estimated that the value of the food received by each person on any given Food Bank day is at least $68.00. That figure multiplied by the number of households served in 2006 (2,177), means that the Food Bank distributed over $148,000.00 worth of food in 2006.

The Food Bank continues to be operated solely by volunteers, numbering approximately 30, who collectively work 300 hours per month to run the Food Bank. As the Food Bank has grown, it has adjusted to meet the needs of the organization. In November 2005 volunteers elected a Committee of six of its volunteers to oversee the operations of the Food Bank, including a chairperson, secretary and treasurer.

These dedicated volunteers, the majority of whom are parishioners of St. Joseph's, continue to give much of their time and energy to help the less fortunate because they all believe in following Jesus' teaching that you should "love your neighbour as much as you love yourself". They also believe we all have a responsibility to everyone in our community because everyone is our neighbour.

Success Stories: Yes, we do have some success. We often hear about the good we are doing, whether from students working their way through school, parents who have had to stay home to care for young children, and others who for various reasons relied on the Food Bank during the past several years but since have found a job and are very grateful for the support they received from the Food Bank when they were in need. In fact some of those we have contact with are happy to help the Food Bank in any way they can.

However, we still have those who are dependent on the Food Bank to survive, those on small pensions, or with low paying or part-time jobs, and those with physical or mental disabilities, or other disabilities, all trying to find their way back into society and struggling to simply put food on the table…and that is reason enough to do what we do.

Thanks to the commitment of our volunteers and the support of St. Joseph's Parish, we have been able to maintain our growth and succeed in serving Christ.

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matthew 25:35 RSV).